Fabio Cannavaro has called on Italy to put their resources in developing younger players as the defender prepares for international retirement.

Italy were knocked out of the World Cup after a 3-2 defeat by Slovakia meant they finished bottom of their group.

With nine players in the team over 30, the 36-year-old defender said: "We've got to invest in younger players.

"We've got to learn from this loss otherwise it's going to take another 27 years before we win the World Cup."

Cannavaro, the Azzurri's star player and captain when they won the competition in Germany four years ago, seemed off the pace as Italy struggled in South Africa , drawing against Paraguay and New Zealand before losing to Slovakia.

The Juventus centre-back admitted he cried after the defending champions were eliminated, but did not believe the woeful performance in Africa would erase the memory of their 2006 triumph.

"This is a black page in our history, but it can't erase what we achieved in 2006," said Cannavaro, Italy's most capped player with 136 appearances for his country.

"I'm not ashamed to say that I cried last night after 14 years in Azzurro. With four stars on your chest, you feel obligated to win. It's only natural to feel pressure but we were too afraid. I saw it in the faces of my team-mates."

Cannavaro will pass the captain's armband to goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon before heading for semi-retirement at Dubai's Al-Ahli.

Worryingly for the Azzurri, however, is Cannavaro's belief that the four-time World Cup winners did not have the players of the calibre of the 2006 generation.

"I think there are not many changes we can make. At the moment, Italy is not producing players like in my generation when we had great players," he said.

"It's not just the national team, it's the clubs. We have good players but not top drawer. I've been saying for a while that the system has to change."

It is not what former Fiorentina boss Cesare Prandelli will want to hear as he prepares to take over from departing coach Marcello Lippi on 1 July.

But Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete agreed with Cannavaro and believed a "structural crisis" had led to Italy's poor performance.

"Lots of Italian players are not at an international level," he said, bemoaning the fact only 42 percent of Serie A players are Italian.

"We have to be realists. These are the facts. We need to reflect on the structural crisis of Italian football.

"We've got to develop a strategy to start over. This problem didn't begin yesterday. It's been going on for a while. We have the duty to start over.

"The European Union and Uefa have also got to realize what the problem is, because if we can't develop this sport better, the risks won't affect just one or two federations but all the European teams.

"We've already seen how much the European powers have struggled at this World Cup and how well the South Americans are doing.

"Prandelli was chosen for his skills at working with younger players and it is noteworthy that we're signing him to a four-year deal. We're looking ahead long term."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8762335.stm

I didn't think I'd be envious of the Italians for a long while after yesterday but I wish we had more of this talk when we fuck up rather than just saying that the manager is shit or that the players don't have enough passion.

If you can identify and acknowledge the problem then you're some way towards solving it

I didn't think I'd be envious of the Italians for a long while after yesterday but I wish we had more of this talk when we fuck up rather than just saying that the manager is shit or that the players don't have enough passion.

If you can identify and acknowledge the problem then you're some way towards solving it

The crux of the problem is that its becoming more and more difficult for youngsters to get a chance to play for top Italian clubs... even 22-23 yr old players are considered too young... this wasn't the case in the 90s or 80s. Italy still produces great U19 & U21 talent, but unfortunately the development stops there... Giovinco is a good example...

Anyways we have discussed this many times... but IMO there is also an element of playing the "blame game" in Cannavaro's statements. Italy have embarassed themselves at the World Cup, and what is worse, most of the media and fans predicted and expected it... and most of us believe that it was avoidable, Italy still had enuf talent to do well in this competition. That talent was ignored by Lippi.

I mean, you can say that there is no Roberto Baggio in Italy anymore and to some extent that is coz of the youth development problem... the "Giovinco's" are not becoming "Baggio's" anymore... but even if they did, and Italy had a Baggio right now, he would have watched the world cup on TV coz Lippi would ve ignored him... The key problem was Lippi's ego, lets not blame the talent for that...

Prandelli will surely bring in Gamberini, but I hope he also gives some chances to youngsters... this is the area where Italy needs most of the revolution. I would hope that by 2012, Italy has Chiellini + Gamberini + 2 youngsters will decent international exposure as CB's. And there are a lot of promising young fullbacks, I hope all 3-4 of them in the 2012 squad come from this crop with experience in the legs.

There is a decent bunch of new talent available here, on top of a decent nucleus from Lippi's side for Prandelli to build on... Assuming Prandelli goes with his usual 4231 formation, the 2 man central midfield will not be too much of a worry.

Strikers: Balotelli, Cassano, Miccoli, Rossi, Foggia, Okaka, etc

There is decent talent to work with for the creative striker and the 2 wingers behind the centre forward...

I am really looking forward to Italy playing the Prandelli brand of football, keeping the possession and attacking. I am not sure this Italy will win anything, probably not, but it will be a good rebuilding exercise, thats I am confident of.... and thats what Italy needs right now... its time to rebuild first, the silverware will follow later.

I didn't think I'd be envious of the Italians for a long while after yesterday but I wish we had more of this talk when we fuck up rather than just saying that the manager is shit or that the players don't have enough passion.

If you can identify and acknowledge the problem then you're some way towards solving it

The crux of the problem is that its becoming more and more difficult for youngsters to get a chance to play for top Italian clubs... even 22-23 yr old players are considered too young... this wasn't the case in the 90s or 80s. Italy still produces great U19 & U21 talent, but unfortunately the development stops there... Giovinco is a good example...

Anyways we have discussed this many times... but IMO there is also an element of playing the "blame game" in Cannavaro's statements. Italy have embarassed themselves at the World Cup, and what is worse, most of the media and fans predicted and expected it... and most of us believe that it was avoidable, Italy still had enuf talent to do well in this competition. That talent was ignored by Lippi.

I mean, you can say that there is no Roberto Baggio in Italy anymore and to some extent that is coz of the youth development problem... the "Giovinco's" are not becoming "Baggio's" anymore... but even if they did, and Italy had a Baggio right now, he would have watched the world cup on TV coz Lippi would ve ignored him... The key problem was Lippi's ego, lets not blame the talent for that...

The talent wasn't as good as the previous generation. But we were really blessed in the last generation in all areas apart from perhaps midfield. This new generation's midfield seems better, and we are producing good technical midfielders like Aquilani, Montolivo, Cigarini, Dessena which is good. However we havn't produced the top quality strikers and defenders that we used to, though perhaps some of these young guys like Balotelli and Ranocchia will change that.

Like you said though, there was more than enough talent to get out of the group comfortably. Lippi was correct to take the blame.

Prandelli will surely bring in Gamberini, but I hope he also gives some chances to youngsters... this is the area where Italy needs most of the revolution. I would hope that by 2012, Italy has Chiellini + Gamberini + 2 youngsters will decent international exposure as CB's. And there are a lot of promising young fullbacks, I hope all 3-4 of them in the 2012 squad come from this crop with experience in the legs.

There is a decent bunch of new talent available here, on top of a decent nucleus from Lippi's side for Prandelli to build on... Assuming Prandelli goes with his usual 4231 formation, the 2 man central midfield will not be too much of a worry.

Strikers: Balotelli, Cassano, Miccoli, Rossi, Foggia, Okaka, etc

There is decent talent to work with for the creative striker and the 2 wingers behind the centre forward...

I am really looking forward to Italy playing the Prandelli brand of football, keeping the possession and attacking. I am not sure this Italy will win anything, probably not, but it will be a good rebuilding exercise, thats I am confident of.... and thats what Italy needs right now... its time to rebuild first, the silverware will follow later.

Excellent analysis blue.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I will only add a few things.

It is worth noting that Maggio and Pazzini have heavily criticised Prandelli in the past. Now I hope Prandelli can put his differences aside not use this job as an ego trip the same way Lippi did.

I think Prandelli is a big fan of Di Silvestri, we will see more of him. Montolivo will become important players under him aswell. Gilardino always performs under Prandelli - he will do well. If Prandelli wants to play 4-2-3-1 as you say, he will need genuine wingers. I know Marchionni is 31, but i think he will be recalled, at least temporarirly.

I just hope for a good showing in euro 2012. The players can gain experience, and then we can build towards the next world cup.

hi guys why when people pick the Italy of the future they leave out giovinco who for me is the best italian talent right now everyone say mario but IMO giovinco is more talented, technically perfect i mean his speed with the ball is basically like messi and i think he's also a better passer than messi maybe the only thing is his size. anyway i hope he goes to a team where he can show the world his talent. also there's a young player in the milan youth system Verdi who's supposed to be really impressive maybe pirlo can tell us more.

agree 100% persistence the problem is not talent it's italian coaches look at two examples marco motta and cigarini. motta for me is already the best italian fullback i remember the game against arsenal he was great the best roma player yet he has to sit on the bench cause the coach prefers the 33year old cassani,look at cigarini he for me is the best italian midfied talent we have great passer composed on the ball doesn't lose possession simply classy people say he is the next pirlo but for some reason he reminds me of xavi but he is on the bench in napoli why cause the italian coach rather play with two DM the talent is there they have to be played

ArthurFriedenreich wrote:hi guys why when people pick the Italy of the future they leave out giovinco who for me is the best italian talent right now everyone say mario but IMO giovinco is more talented, technically perfect i mean his speed with the ball is basically like messi and i think he's also a better passer than messi maybe the only thing is his size. anyway i hope he goes to a team where he can show the world his talent. also there's a young player in the milan youth system Verdi who's supposed to be really impressive maybe pirlo can tell us more.

bluenine wrote:I mean, you can say that there is no Roberto Baggio in Italy anymore and to some extent that is coz of the youth development problem... the "Giovinco's" are not becoming "Baggio's" anymore...

Clearly, I really rate Giovinco, else I wouldn't ve even made that comparison... but he has hardly even played in the last season... that couldn't ve been good for his development as a player, its like he has taken 2 steps back... its the exact same problem I was refering to, youngsters are just not given chances... to me, Giovinco is a prime example of talent being there but wasted...

Thats the only reason Giovinco is not there in the current "consideration set" I listed above... hopefully he joins some club that trusts his talent and gives him some playing time to develop.

ArthurFriedenreich wrote:agree 100% persistence the problem is not talent it's italian coaches look at two examples marco motta and cigarini. motta for me is already the best italian fullback i remember the game against arsenal he was great the best roma player yet he has to sit on the bench cause the coach prefers the 33year old cassani,look at cigarini he for me is the best italian midfied talent we have great passer composed on the ball doesn't lose possession simply classy people say he is the next pirlo but for some reason he reminds me of xavi but he is on the bench in napoli why cause the italian coach rather play with two DM the talent is there they have to be played

yes blue i agree he has seemed to have gone back a couple steps the gio of the u21 was better than now but like u say hopefully he moves to a team that he will get a chance to shine. Imagine cassano, mario and gio in the same team. what ever happened to shit what's his name they called him the next baggio used to play for napoli very skillful player

ArthurFriedenreich wrote:yes blue i agree he has seemed to have gone back a couple steps the gio of the u21 was better than now but like u say hopefully he moves to a team that he will get a chance to shine. Imagine cassano, mario and gio in the same team. what ever happened to shit what's his name they called him the next baggio used to play for napolivery skillful player

Zola? He was reasonably talented, but he threw away his career by playing for a foreign club in some island or the other...

You probably mean Russotto... he is another wasted talent, plays for some Serie B side on the bench.... his career hasn't yet taken off... but his is more of a case of "not taking his chances" rather than "ignored by big bad club"...

yes that's him russotto how old is he now is it too late for him? he was a really talented player what is it with italian coaches and skillfull players maybe the italians on here can tell me look at all the talent through the years that didn't get a proper chance with italy baggio, zola. etc people always say italy play boring but they have had the players to play really beautiful football but it's the coaches that have messed up. the mentality has to change in italy with regards to skillful players

With all due respect to the boys, I don't think the Giovincos of today are being held from becoming the Baggios or Tottis of tomorrow because of the conservative environment.It's just that they aren't that talented.

Real top class talents find their way to te top no matter what surrounds them.Balotelli has the marks of a real craque and indeed it's only his bad temper that stopped him from becoming a regular starter for Inter at 19.

Said that, this doesn't change the problems that you all identified.If we are not blessed with real top class talent for a while, we need to make the best of what we have, the good but not exceptional ones, and we are not doing that well since ages.The problem of an hostile and unhelpful environment for youngsters to get chances to shine and mature is not limited to football in Italy, it's a big general social and cultural gap that keeps growing.

Anyway, I'd stress that the situation was not that different when the last real good generations developed.

The only area where I see a real cause for concern due to recent changes in our development pratices is the keeper role.There's really a structural problem here.Ironically, part of the problem is that we started to throw young keeper in Serie A teams too early, when they haven't the necessary confidence and experience. They end up making mistakes and being burned up, and shuffled and swapped among teams too often.So they reach the 26/27 age without much credit and don't get considered by big teams, which then buy foreign keeper much much more than in the past - and this the other big part of the problem.Keeper is an unique role. Innate talent counts less, while steadily and slowly building confidence and experience is key.A young promising keeper needs to stay on the bench and learn from the first choice keeper, then he needs to play two or three years in a lower league, and only then he needs to get first 11 football in a Serie A team, where they need to hold up on him for more than a single season, and insist on him despite blunders and hiccups. Only at that point he's ready for prime time.We used to do that very well in the past but we lost the path recently.

For the rest, yeah big and medium clubs really needs to be more confident in youngsters.But until that happens, it's time that the national team and the FIGC stop crying misery and get the lead by good example.

Youngsters don't play regularly in their teams? Give chances to guys that often sit on the benches.Big teams don't offer NT material anymore? Look at smaller teams.We moan that Juve and Milan don't offer anymore their 3-4 good azzurri packs, but think about how good could have been a Sampdoria package of Pazzini-Cassano-Palombo-Poli in this WC.

Play much more friendlies, where you select small teams talents.Be more adventurous in the qualifiers. It's not that the matchs with the Moldavias and Latvias of Europe really demands fielding only the top experienced players.

Make the National Team more like a permanent academy.That's what lesser popular sports here in Italy, like rugby, volley, waterpolo, handball, did when they had to step up their breed of players for international level.In football it's more difficult because of the packed calendar and the opposition of big team to offer players to the NT too often, but since the issue is that big teams don't feature good local players anymore, that's not big deal.

Make the NT a showcase for promoting overlooked talents.That's what poorer footballing nations often do.If you showcase many youngsters in friendlys and exhibitions, maybe the press, fans and sport directors will stop ignoring them.Or maybe we could be able to get more of them making experience in foreign clubs.

For me Prandelli has 4 right backs that are more than capable in Maggio, Motta, Santon & De Silvestri. The most important thing Prandelli has to do is form a solid centre back partnership which is is likely to made up of two of Chiellini, Bonucci and Ranocchia. Criscito's positioning in South Africa was suspect but I think he'll keep his place within the squad.

Lippi's 23 lacked creativity and players that can change a game. Cassano, Miccoli, Balotelli & Rossi all offer creativity whether it be a clever pass, taking on defenders or in the case of Balotelli - raw power.

abundance wrote:Make the NT a showcase for promoting overlooked talents.That's what poorer footballing nations often do.If you showcase many youngsters in friendlys and exhibitions, maybe the press, fans and sport directors will stop ignoring them.Or maybe we could be able to get more of them making experience in foreign clubs.

Great post as usual, Abundance and thats a neat idea. The bulk of azzurri talent is supposed to come from the "europa" sides anyways... and the smaller clubs play a role in developing the talent... so I am completely with you there.

Re the GKs, agree that they are not given enuf trust and time and get shuffled too quickly... but I don't think part of the problem is that they are given a chance too early... look at Buffon's case for example. He was a regular and one of the best in Serie A at 18... so we cannot say that 20-21 is too early for a keeper to start for a club in Serie A... if they have the talent, they can....But its true that the younger GKs are not given enuf time to gain the confidence....

Cesare Prandelli hails Daniele De Rossi as Italy’s “new leader,” opens the door to youth and foreign imports while discussing his tactical approach.

The Azzurri boss was presented to the media today in his debut Press conference and the pressure is already on to change direction after Marcello Lippi’s World Cup flop.

“De Rossi has all the characteristics to take on the role of leader. He has a lot of experience and can become a reference point for everyone. The same goes for Andrea Pirlo,” said the new Coach.

“Meritocracy will be the key to my Nazionale. Meritocracy is inversely proportional to behaviour, as the people I respect are those who give you more than they think is possible.

“The plan is also to set out a long-term approach, so I must understand which players are ready to start again with the right mentality.”

Antonio Cassano was frozen out of the squad going to South Africa, but the door is now open for the Sampdoria starlet.

“I can see Cassano is relaxed, mature and meeting his wife may well have changed his life.”

One of the biggest criticisms of Lippi’s reign was the average age of the squad and Prandelli was brought in because of his history of working with young players.

“I am increasingly convinced that the future of football is in the youth academies. Clubs have to invest in these areas because there is so much quality there and we need the strength to work with them.

“At Fiorentina we invested a great deal in the youth sector and I’m certain that soon they’ll be reaping the rewards.

“I know that for clubs a quick result is the most important thing, so they focus on more experienced players, but in the long run I’m convinced the big sides will also return to bringing youth through the ranks.”

There could also be a boost to the Azzurri by bringing in more ‘Oriundi’ – foreign-born players with an Italian passport, like Mauro Camoranesi.

“If they have Italian citizenship and play well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t call them up. We Italians have great pride and want to prove that South Africa was just a blip.

“I’m convinced this country has quality players and I want to bring it back where it belongs – among the top four sides in the world.”

Lippi continually changed his tactics at the World Cup, but Prandelli is also known for his versatility.

“Will I adapt to the players or try to impose my vision? It is a difficult question, as every Coach can have an idea in his head. I hope to put my players in a position to give their best, but there is no permanent system, as there is so little time to work on that.”

Finally, the tournament has been wracked with controversy over refereeing errors and FIFA are still resisting the introduction of technology.

“I am favourable to technology,” insisted Prandelli. “It would be a deterrent to violence and lower the tension after a game. There are difficulties in applying it, but this would still be fantastic for the sport.”

LRD - there's nothing wrong with players like Balotelli and Oezil who don't look like someone's idea of an Italian/a German playing for the country of their birth.

I don't even think you have to be born there - eg Onuoha or others who move over when they're young and then naturally develop the characteristics of their home nation.

I also accept that lots of 2nd generation immigrants are going to have a sense of dual nationality but I'm talking about the cynical c**ts who I've included above who move over to countries when they're adults for footballing reasons and then play for the national teams.

Pierre Littbarski wrote:LRD - there's nothing wrong with players like Balotelli and Oezil who don't look like someone's idea of an Italian/a German playing for the country of their birth.

I don't even think you have to be born there - eg Onuoha or others who move over when they're young and then naturally develop the characteristics of their home nation.

I also accept that lots of 2nd generation immigrants are going to have a sense of dual nationality but I'm talking about the cynical c**ts who I've included above who move over to countries when they're adults for footballing reasons and then play for the national teams.

They're playing for the country that has a better chance of success. Nothing more to it they feel nothing for it. It is what is ruining international football along with the others i see no difference between them.

Look at even desailly no way does that guy prefer France over Ghana. But the French were done for a long time ago. They only won a world cup cos of an Algerian. Germany have sold their soul. If England in 20 years have Somalians some chinese fella's and god knows what else i see no point in calling it England just because they've found an excuse(moved here, distant relative, born here)

When you find me someone who choose to play for example Switzerland over France then i can say maybe. But that'll never be the case.